Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 198 Boss
"Brother Yao! Are you home?"

The two brothers were talking when they heard a knock on the door. They recognized the voice as Zhao Da, the workshop manager.

Yao Yuan quickly stood up and put down his bowl and chopsticks, responded first, then went to open the door. When the door opened, he saw two people standing outside, one was Zhao Da, and the other was a young man he had never seen before.

This young man looked similar to the eldest son of the Yao family and was dressed in ordinary clothes, but at first glance he had a different aura and was definitely not an ordinary person.

Although Yao Yuan was just a fireworks craftsman, he was from Nanzhili, and fireworks craftsmen always dealt with nobles and wealthy people. After all, ordinary people could not afford fireworks.

"Uncle Zhao, this is..." Yao Yuan bowed, greeted Zhao Da and looked towards Zhu Shenzhui.

"This is Master Liu, the owner of the workshop." Zhao said with a laugh.

Only then did Yao Yuan understand Zhu Shenzhu's identity. These days, he and his elder brother Yao Liang had been wondering who the person was who had placed them and their brothers in this place, and today they actually met the real culprit.

Yao Yuan quickly bowed to Zhu Shenzhui again, and followed Zhao Da's introduction and called him "Sixth Master". Then he bowed and invited Zhu Shenzhui and the others to come into the courtyard to talk. Zhu Shenzhui's eyes stayed on Yao Yuan, nodded slightly, and walked in.

After entering the courtyard, Yao Liang also came out of the house. Seeing Yao Yuan coming with Zhao Da and a young man, he showed a questioning expression. Yao Yuan took a few steps forward and whispered something in Yao Liang's ear. Only then did Yao Liang understand Zhu Shenzhu's identity.

"Sixth Master, Ju Rong Yao Liang greets the boss." Yao Liang hurried forward and saluted respectfully.

Zhu Shenzhui smiled and waved his hand, telling him not to be polite, but Yao Liang did not dare to be careless. After all, the young man in front of him was their boss. He did not expect that the boss would be so young, but he did not dare to neglect him at all. Although he did not know the boss's official identity, just based on the fact that he could command the Jinyiwei and place them in the workshop of the guard post, the boss's identity was definitely not simple.

Yao Liang was also a man who had seen the world. The prosperity of Southern Zhili was incomparable to that of the North. But compared with those nobles and wealthy businessmen he had met before, Zhu Shenzui in front of him was different. There was an indescribable feeling about him. This feeling was both noble and free and easy, as well as the majesty of having been in a superior position for a long time.

"Are you the Yao brothers?"

"That's right, I'm Yao Liang, and this is my second brother Yao Yuan." Yao Liang nodded and pointed at Yao Yuan beside him.

Yao Yuan bowed again but said nothing. As the younger brother, he always respected his elder brother. Although he had met Zhu Shenzhui before, he just stayed by his side while his elder brother chatted with the boss.

As he spoke, Yao Liang invited Zhu Shenzhui into the house. When they entered, they saw the unfinished noodles on the table and a young woman standing timidly beside her with her head down, waiting. Needless to say, this woman was the wife of the eldest son of the Yao family.

A craftsman's family doesn't have so many requirements, and it's not a wealthy family where women can't see outsiders. The Yao family is now impoverished. Moreover, when Old Man Yao was alive, it was common for the women in the family to help with housework and show up in public. This was the case with the mother of the Yao brothers, and the same is true for Yao Liang's wife.

"I'm eating. Haha, it seems I came at an untimely time." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile as his eyes swept across the dishes and chopsticks on the table.

Yao Liang quickly apologized and was about to clear the dishes but was stopped by Zhu Shenzhui, who said that thunder would not delay people's meals, not to mention that he came uninvited. Since they hadn't finished eating yet, they should finish their meal first and talk later. There was no need to rush.

Yao Liang was slightly stunned by Zhu Shenzhu's words. He didn't expect Zhu Shenzhu's boss to be so amiable, and he felt relieved. These days, the two brothers had been discussing in private what kind of person the boss they had never met was. Today, they finally met him. This boss was not only young but also looked quite extraordinary. However, Zhu Shenzhu's amiable attitude made them feel relieved. It was a good thing that the boss was easy to talk to. The worst thing was to meet a boss who was difficult to talk to.

Seeing that the Yao brothers were a little hesitant, Zhu Shenzhui smiled and urged them again. Yao Liang then winked at his brother, and the two brothers returned to the table, picked up their bowls, ate the noodles in the bowls in a few mouthfuls, and then drank all the noodle soup. After eating, the two brothers quickly cleaned up, and Yao Liang's wife came up to help. Seeing this, Zhu Shenzhui did not say anything. Although the craftsman family was not particular about trivial matters, there was a difference between men and women after all. Zhu Shenzhui's eyes just swept over the woman and paid no more attention to her.

After clearing the dishes, Yao Liang's wife took the food to the kitchen and brought out a pot of tea. After putting the tea down, she bowed slightly to Zhu Shenzhui and Zhao Da, and left without saying a word.

After his wife left, Yao Liang picked up the teapot to pour tea for Zhu Shenzhui and the others. While pouring the tea, he apologized and said that there was no good tea at home, only some mountain tea brought from Nanzhili, and he really neglected his host.

Having said that, this tea is not bad. Zhu Shenzui has been an old tea drinker both in his past life and in this life. As soon as he saw the tea and smelled its fragrance, he knew that it was indeed the mountain tea from Southern Zhili, but it was much better than the tea from the north.

Smilingly taking a sip of tea, Zhu Shenzhui asked in a friendly manner whether the Yao brothers were used to living here, and whether there was anything missing at home or if there was anything they were not used to.

The Yao Liang brothers shook their heads and said that they had gotten used to living here. The courtyard that Zhao Da helped to arrange was very nice, and it had all the household items. Food, salt, oil and other things were also provided by Zhao Da. Their family lived very well here and had no difficulty adapting.

Hearing this, Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly, thought for a moment and turned to Zhao Da and said, the Yao brothers are from Nanzhili, and he just saw that the Yao brothers were eating noodles, but southerners are different from northerners, northerners eat noodles and southerners eat rice, the workshop should remember to provide rice as much as possible to the Yao brothers in the future, and give less noodles.

As for the rice workshop, if there is no grain in stock, go directly to the Hundred Households Office to find Lu Yisheng and ask him to find a way to solve the problem. No matter what, this matter must be done immediately.

Zhao Da nodded repeatedly and said that it was his negligence for not considering these things, and he would definitely take care of it himself.

As soon as these words were spoken, the Yao brothers hurriedly stood up and said that it was not necessary. Although they were from the south, they were used to eating wheaten food. Besides, it was already very good to have white flour to eat without doing anything living here. There was no need to make such trouble. Moreover, it was not Zhao Da's fault. Zhao Da had settled them here and taken good care of them on a daily basis. They were already very grateful.

Waving his hand and asking them to sit down, Zhu Shenzhui said that they didn't need to worry about it. After all, they came from Nanzhili, and eating a few meals of noodles on weekdays might not be a big problem, but they would not be used to it after a long time. It's OK if they don't know about it, but now that they know about it, they have to do it, so it's settled.

The Yao brothers were grateful for Zhu Shenzhui's attitude. They never thought that Zhu Shenzhui would be so kind and even consider such a small matter. But at the same time, they were also curious. Zhu Shenzhui sent people all the way from Nanzhili to invite them at a high price. Could it be that it was just a small matter like making fireworks?
But now the boss didn't say anything, and the Yao brothers couldn't ask directly. Then Zhu Shenzhui talked to them about some ordinary things, including their previous situation in Nanzhili. When he heard that the Yao family was almost ruined because of the workshop, he couldn't help but sigh a few words and comforted them.

After chatting for a while, when the Yao brothers relaxed and spoke more naturally, Zhu Shenzhui mentioned the matter of fireworks.

Zhu Shenzui asked them about the production and varieties of fireworks. The Yao brothers were professionals in this regard. The two brothers introduced to Zhu Shenzui in detail the experience of the Yao ancestors in making fireworks, including the current technical conditions of some fireworks in Nanzhili, as well as their brothers' level and so on.

"Boss, the fireworks produced by our Yao family workshop are often bought by nobles from not only Nanzhili but also the capital. My Yao family has inherited the craft for generations. My father is an expert in this field, and my eldest brother's craft is not bad either. When my father was alive, he said that my eldest brother's craft is 80% of my father's, which can be considered first-class." Yao Yuan was young after all, and was a little nervous at the beginning, but he gradually relaxed as they talked. When they talked about fireworks, he also let go and said this with a smile.

"Oh, is that so?" Zhu Shenzhui nodded with a smile, then looked at Yao Yuan and asked, "What about you? As the second son of the Yao family, your cooking skills are not bad, right?"

Yao Yuan smiled embarrassedly: "I can't do that. How can I compare with my father and elder brother? My cooking skills are just ordinary at home. I usually just help my father and elder brother..."

Without waiting for him to speak, Yao Liang took over the conversation and explained to Zhu Shenzhui, "My second brother is young. When my father was alive, he had not yet graduated. However, his skills are not bad. Compared with ordinary fireworks craftsmen, he is already very good. It's just that my father is very strict and did not let him graduate. With his skills, he would have been able to work independently in other places. Moreover, my second brother is very smart and often has some strange ideas about this business. When my father was alive, he praised him for this."

As he spoke, Yao Liang gently kicked Yao Yuan with his foot and gave him a look. His younger brother was a man who didn't know how to control his mouth. He said whatever he wanted. The other party was the boss. Asking these questions was like evaluating them. How could he say that he was not capable? If that was the case, how could the boss still employ him?
Zhu Shenzhui saw Yao Liang's little trick, but he didn't expose it, just turned a blind eye. In fact, when Zhou Anmin sent people over, he had already figured out the situation of the two brothers. They were just fireworks craftsmen, what secrets could they have? Under the investigation of the Jinyiwei, any secrets of the eighteen generations of ancestors could be dug out by you, let alone such a small matter.

(End of this chapter)